This invention relates to nanometer scale electromechanical systems. In particular, the present invention relates to nanometer scale electromechanical systems that may be used in various applications, such as heat engines, heat pumps, or propulsion systems.
Electromechanical systems that rely on molecular motion are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,537 (the “'537 patent”), describes an electricity generator that produces electrical energy from the random movement of molecules in a gas, and the uneven distribution of thermal energy in different molecules of the gas, which is at an overall uniform temperature.
Other such systems are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,365,653; 3,495,101, 2,979,551; 3,609,593; 3,252,013 and 3,508,089. These systems produce electricity or devices driven by electricity, such as an oscillator, based on molecular motion and thermal energy.
One problem common to all of these systems is the low level of output power when compared to the amount of power required to operate the systems. For example, such systems often require a certain amount of energy to maintain the systems at a constant overall temperature. While the '537 patent attempted to address some of the known deficiencies in such systems, the electricity generator described therein also suffers from similar deficiencies. For example, the '537 patent attempts to heat the thermocouple junction between two dissimilar materials by simply being in contact with a gas-molecule having an above-average speed. In addition, the '537 patent utilizes an array of electrical rectifiers (see, e.g., rectifier bridge 40 in FIGS. 2 and 4) that may have difficulty in operating properly due to the infinitesimally small voltages produced at the molecular scale.
Moreover, as the use of electronic devices continues to flourish, there is an ever increasing need to provide more efficient and/or quieter ways to cool the components that are typically the heart of such devices. For example, most personal computers include one or more fans that are required to maintain the temperature of the microprocessor within a certain operational range. These fans are often noisy, and often result in large quantities of dirty air being pulled through the computer from the air intakes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide nanometer scale electromechanical systems that efficiently convert molecular-level energy into another form that can be used at a macroscopic scale.
Another object of the present invention is to provide nanometer scale electromechanical systems that efficiently convert molecular-level heat energy into useful mechanical and/or electrical energy.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide nanometer scale electromechanical systems that utilize molecular-level energy to create a pressure differential on a surface of an object to propel the object in a controllable direction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide nanometer scale electromechanical systems that utilize molecular-level energy to heat or cool an external substance.